Damage System

The Damage System was created to promote and reward variety and depth in players' team and gear compositions, as well as communication and tactical positioning in-game. No character will be able to excel at every situation, as well as every enemy will have its weaknesses. The goal of the system is to create the biggest possible variety of tactical situations with relatively few moving parts.

These moving parts are: Damage Types, Defense Types, Resistances, Immunities, Precision damage and Critical damage.

Damage Types
There are basically two big damage groups: Physical (PHY) and Elemental (ELE), each with 3 types of damage that can cause different negative status ailments (Conditions) on their targets.

Impact
The most common type of damage in the game, it may cause the Stun Condition on targets. Deals +25% damage against Shields.

Frag
It may cause the Injury Condition on targets. Deals +25% damage against Shields.

Magnetic
The rarest type of physical damage, it deals 75% increased damage against Shields and may cause the Silence Condition on targets.

Fire
The most common elemental damage type, it may cause the Burn Condition on targets. Deals +25% damage against Armor.

Water
It may cause the Freeze Condition on targets. Deals +25% damage against Armor.

Nature
The rarest type of elemental damage, it deals 75% increased damage against Armor and it may cause the Contagion Condition on targets.

Defense Types
There are two Defenses in Relic Hunters: physical and elemental

Physical Defense
Protects against all Physical attacks.

Elemental Defense
Protects against all Elemental attacks.

Life Types
For a more detailed overview of the 3 Life types, check the Life page.

Health is the most common Life type, with no special traits. Vulnerable to both "Damage-over-Time" (DoT) Conditions: Injury and Burn.

Armor is especially resistant to damage in general, immune to Critical Hits, but vulnerable to Elemental damage, especially Nature.

Shields are not as strong as Armor, but provide immunity to Precision Damage and Conditions. Vulnerable to Physical damage, especially Magnetic. They can also regenerate over time.

Resistances & Immunities
Characters may have different resistances and/or immunities to damage types, critical hits, etc.

Resist [Type]%
Reduces the total damage taken from a source of the Type of damage (Fire, Water, Nature, Impact, Frag or Magnetic).

Resist% also reduces the duration and effects of the Conditions related to that damage Type (Burn, Freeze, Corrosion, Knockback, Bleed and Disrupt, respectively).

For player characters the limit is 75%, but NPCs may go up to 100% (complete immunity).

Dodge Projectile%
Chance to completely dodge a single projectile. The limit for this stat is 90%.

Flying
Flying characters are completely immune to being hit by Melee attacks.

Precision Damage
For a more detailed overview of Precision Damage, check the Precision Hits page.

When a hit-scan weapon hits the center of mass of a target, it is called a "Precision Hit".

Precision hits deal extra damage that can vary wildly depending on character, skills and items, with the base value coming from the equipped weapon. Some weapons (like hitscan Marksman Rifles and Pistols) have much higher Precision Damage than others (like most SMGs and Heavy Pistols).

Shields are completely immune to Precision damage.

Projectile weapons cannot cause Precision hits, so they also never cause Precision damage.

Critical Damage
For a more detailed overview of Critical Damage, check the Critical Hits page.

All attacks have a Critical Chance, which establishes how often they will cause Critical Damage.

Both Critical Chance and Critical Damage Multiplier vary wildly depending on character, skills and items, with the base values coming from the equipped weapon. Some weapons (like SMGs) have much higher Critical Damage than others (like Sniper Rifles).

Armor is completely immune to Critical Damage, and it might also be mitigated by Resist Critical%.

Calculating Damage Multipliers
There are several possible multipliers that apply to damage in Relic Hunters Legend.

As a rule of thumb, multipliers are always additive, never multiplicative between them. The exception of this rule is the Combat Rating multiplier.

Here's how damage is calculated for weapon damage:

1) Base damage comes from weapon;

2) Combat Rating multiplier is applied;

3) Precision Damage multiplier is calculated from the Combat Rating damage and added;

4) Critical Hit Damage multiplier is calculated from the Combat Rating damage and added;

5) Vulnerability/Resistances damage multiplier is calculated from the Combat Rating damage and added;

6) Any other damage bonus is calculated from the Combat Rating damage and added;

Example
Let's take, for example, a hit-scan pistol that causes 16 physical damage;

The difference between PHY attack and PHY defense results in a multiplier of 120%, bringing the damage up to 19;

''Then, 150% precision damage is applied to 19, which results in 9 extra damage. Total damage is now 19+9=28.''

'' Then, 220% critical damage is applied to 19, which results in 22 extra damage. Total damage is now 19+9+22=50;''

''Finally, 150% extra damage due to Physical Vulnerability is applied to 19, which results in 9 extra damage. Total damage is 19+9+22+9=59.''

''The damage difference is staggering - in the example above, with additive bonuses, the damage went from 16 base to a total of 59. If all damage bonuses were multiplicative, it would rocket up to 71.''